


chef-d’oeuvre

by avadescent



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Just: Fluff, Tea shop AU, even though coffee's in it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-23
Updated: 2020-09-23
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:27:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26612956
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/avadescent/pseuds/avadescent
Summary: It might be shitty coffee but it’s not a shitty life if it’s with her.
Relationships: Levi/Petra Ral
Comments: 13
Kudos: 40





	chef-d’oeuvre

**Author's Note:**

  * For [BizLawGal](https://archiveofourown.org/users/BizLawGal/gifts).



> Happy birthday, Lyn! You rock.
> 
> (Haha, get it, because Petra = rock. I hope you don’t die though. I wish for you Levi’s longevity.)

**i.**

He’s got humanity’s most lethal brew in the bag.

Petra cringes, because the taste isn’t even acrid, it’s some mix of nuclear bombs and sewer grime and downright—

“It’s shit,” Levi deadpans, because she’s no good at hiding the look of utter disgust on her face. She shifts in her seat, feeling uncomfortable and judged, even though it should be the other way around given _he’s_ the one injecting 250 mL of death into monstrosities such as this.

“It’s not shit,” Petra answers, sticking her tongue out with a hiss. “There are worse words. Like… abomination. Nauseating. Horror. You could sign it up for the next IT movie. It’s—”

“—shit,” he finishes for her, grabbing the cup back with one sharp motion and swapping it for a glass of cold water instead. Petra snatches it gratefully and swallows it all, water dribbling from her mouth. Levi hands her his handkerchief, eye twitching at the stains that litter the front of her shirt.

“What the hell did you do to make such shitty coffee?” She coughs, dabbing at her mouth with the handkerchief.

He doesn’t look offended, though Petra reflects that most days he doesn’t look like anything at all. “I must’ve roasted it wrong,” he offers. “Maybe I got bad beans. I don’t know. Coffee is too—temperamental.”

“Just like you,” she remarks off-handedly, and he lets out a snort that almost sounds like a laugh.

**ii.**

“I’ve got an idea!” Eren bursts in with an energetic smile, Mikasa trailing along behind him looking strikingly non-energetic. 

“Oi, brat,” Levi snaps, eyes scanning the floor where dirt splotches in the shape of Eren’s shoes are scattered across the entrance. 

“Sorry, sorry!” he’s quick to apologize, kicking his shoes off and tossing them out the door before rushing to grab a rag from behind the newly installed counter. Petra emerges from the stock room with a ready smile, and Eren’s tense shoulders visibly relax, because everyone knows that she’s the Asshole Dampener around these parts.

“What are you two doing here? Don’t you have clubs today?” she asks, and next to her Levi makes a noise of disgruntlement. 

“It’s just—” Eren lifts his head up to answer, catches sight of Levi’s murderous gaze, and promptly returns to cleaning, “—I was thinking, maybe we could add bubble tea to the menu?”

A box of unopened coffee beans hurtles through the air, but Mikasa catches it before it can land squarely on Eren’s head. 

“Tch.” Levi crosses his arms. “I’m trying to run a business here, idiot, not a cheap stand.”

“Think about it!” Eren implores. “Everyone loves bubble tea! What d’you mean it’s not a business? It’s your best bet.”

“Tell that to all the crummy ass bubble tea stalls next door.”

“Hey.” Petra holds out her palm. Grumbling, Levi hands her a dollar for the swear jar. “Bubble tea is a wonderful idea, Eren, but it’s not exactly… sophisticated.” 

“Aw.” Eren slumps onto the floor in thought, but it’s not long until he’s drumming up another idea, relentless as always. “What about—”

“Oi,” Levi interjects, unwilling to listen any further, “Want to try out the new coffee instead?”

“Levi!” Petra yells, but it’s too late.

**iii.**

“What the hell is this?” Levi asks. And then he’s handing her another dollar.

“It’s blueberry cheesecake,” Petra informs, grinning broadly. “I found my mother’s old recipe in my dad’s kitchen, so I thought I’d give it a try.”

“Hm.” He pokes the slice with his fork. It certainly looks delicious, with a crisp bottom and a creamy overlay, blueberries and jam coating the top, cut so cleanly he almost wishes he could judge it based on appearance alone. He frowns at the food item, poking it again with an air of suspicion. “This isn’t payback for the coffee, is it.”

“What? No!” She looks so offended that Levi takes her word for it. “Just try it, you big grump. You might like it.”

“Hm.” He pokes the slice with his fork. And then he’s shoving a bite into his mouth, feeling the cream melt over his tongue, the blueberries breaking into a rich, sugary flavor between his teeth. He chews, thoughtfully, and then he’s picking another forkful, prompting her to take a bite for herself. “Maybe you should be the one making the coffee.”

She laughs. “You wish,” she says, but the last syllable is muffled when he shoves the cake against her lips, smirking as she tries to catch it with her mouth before it falls.

“Sorry,” he answers, cheekily, “But I didn’t hear a no.”

**iv.**

“Oh, I see the problem.” Petra stills the motion of his hand, and as her sunshine warmth seeps into his skin, he looks up at her inquisitively. “You’re over extracting the flavor. You grind your coffee beans too fine.”

“That sounds less like a problem and more like a compliment,” Eld, one of their accepted employees, comments with a mouthful of cheesecake. 

“Or a dirty joke,” Oluo adds suggestively, leaning over the counter. “If you’re attempting to flirt, Petra, you should know there are much better ways than tha—”

Gunther’s just smacked his fist over Oluo’s head. His mouth snaps shut with the tip of his tongue dangling painfully in the air. 

“Serves you right.” Petra rolls her eyes at the sight, hands over her hips. “Seriously. It may sound like a compliment, but it’s really not. Have you tasted his coffee? It’s disgusting.”

“Sounds like you aren’t ready for the soft opening at all, Levi,” Gunther comments good-naturedly, an amused smile gracing his face. “It’d be a waste to postpone the date at this point in time, especially when you and Petra have been working so hard on getting the entire shop ready.”

“The soft opening won’t be a problem,” Levi assures, scraping the ground beans into a container labelled ‘FAILED EXPERIMENTS’ (courtesy of Hange, who teased his coffee-making skills with unparalleled vengeance). “Petra’s here.”

“Anything’s possible with Petra, isn’t it?” Eld chuckles fondly. “Well, good luck to the both of you. And hey, are you paying that Eren kid to clean the sign outside? It’s technically child labor if you aren’t.”

“Don’t worry,” Petra sing-songs, patting the lid of a rather large jar residing next to the microwave, “Levi swears enough to give Eren _and_ Mikasa pay for a couple of weeks.”

The answer is met with a round of laughter and a couple of nasty jokes. Levi scowls. “Well, fuck you all too.”

(Eren earns another three dollars that day. “It’s a tip,” Petra tells him, even as he trembles under the thunderous glare of her husband, “For all your hard work.”)

**v.**

“Try adding a little bit of cream,” she advises, the night before they open Levi’s tea shop to the public. 

“If this fails,” he asks, adding the cream like she instructed, “Would you regret everything?”

She’s known him long enough to understand that he’s not talking about the coffee, so it is with loving patience that she smiles at him, her expression as soft and vibrant as the sunset. 

“How could this fail?” she says, full of faith. “I know everyone says business will most likely be bad, because who in the world would order from a tea shop these days if there isn’t milk attached to the word?”

He scoffs, lazily spinning a teaspoon around the coffee. 

“But it doesn’t hurt to try, does it?” She scoots closer to him, her hand hovering over his. “We were always good at making things work. So we’ll make this work too, because it’s your dream.” She tugs on his fingers, and then she’s pressing a kiss over his knuckles, her nose brushing against a plain gold band. 

He offers her a grateful smile, his hand tightening around hers. “Let’s hope this coffee won’t suck ass then, or we’re losing a menu item.”

She laughs. “You know, I wondered if you were making the coffee taste bad on purpose.”

“There wasn’t a lot of effort, that’s for sure.” He snorts. “But Hange wasn’t totally stupid for suggesting it.”

“Well then,” Petra says, gently lifting the freshly brewed cup to her lips, “Let’s see if Levi’s coffee tastes just as special as his tea.”

She takes a sip. Then surprisingly doesn’t spit it out.

Triumph flashes across his eyes when Petra grins proudly at him. “Do you want to try it?” she suggests. “It’s really good. For once.”

“I’ll try it,” he agrees, and because he’s such a clean freak he leans forward to kiss away the coffee staining the corners of her smile.


End file.
